In general, conditional access involves limiting or controlling the communication with a device based on predetermined criteria. Conditional access may be achieved by connecting two devices together when communication therebetween is desired and by disconnecting the two devices from one another when such communication is no longer desired. However, in the context of today's sophisticated computer networks interconnected to form what is known as the world-wide web (“web”), many, if not all, of the devices designed to communicate with the web are “permanently” connected to the web through modem hookups or other means. That is, the devices usually remain physically connected to the web. Typically, access to the web is via a specially designed software package loaded onto a computer and a modem; this software enables a user to connect to an internet service provider who acts as the gate keeper to the web. The user typically pays a monthly fee to the service provider for access to the internet, either on a limited or unlimited basis. The proliferation of users who regularly access the web as a source of information or even as a means of communicating via E-Mail for both business and personal reasons has created a very competitive market for both service providers and the manufacturers of the necessary hardware. Thus, as one would expect there are numerous service providers, each requiring specialized software for access.
An outgrowth of today's emerging digital consumer electronic products is an opportunity to access the Internet from a user's television. Such access has been accomplished by utilizing the user's television as a monitor or display device in conjunction with a set-top box that provides the software (e.g., a web browser) and hardware (e.g., modem, ethernet, ADSL or any equivalent connection means) needed to interface to the web. For example, the RCA Network Computer manufactured by Thomson Consumer Electronics is such a set-top box that may be connected to both a television and a phone line or the like thereby permitting the user to access the web. Set-top boxes may provide a means for a variety of internet applications (e.g., electronic commerce) from the home, the office or any location without utilizing a personal computer or any general purpose computing device. These set-top boxes have open hardware architectures which would permit easy adaptation of the set-top box thereby permitting use with any of a plurality of service providers.